Police Command in Gombe State, North East Nigeria says, it has rescued three babies and arrested 16 suspects in a case of alleged child trafficking and criminal conspiracy.
The arrest over the weekend follows intelligence report from Barunde community of the State.
The Command’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mahid Abubakar, disclosed this while briefing journalists on behalf of the Commissioner of Police, Hayatu Usman, in Gombe on Wednesday.
He said three babies were rescued from the suspects within the state, while two others were trafficked out of the state.
“One of the trafficked babies is in Lagos, while the other have been traced to Anambra.
“Efforts are on to recover the other two babies and return them to the state,” he said.
Abubakar also stated that during investigation, it was discovered that one of the babies was alleged to have been sold for N400,000 to a buyer within the state in collaboration with a social welfare worker.
He added that the suspects operated what could be likened to a “baby factory” where their victims were kept in a location and their babies sold after birth.
According to the police spokesperson, the command received an intelligence report on one of the parents who sold her child to the alleged traffickers.
“This is a criminal conspiracy and child trafficking where one Khadija Manzo and 15 others were arrested following intelligence report received from Barunde community over the weekend.
“That sometime last year, one Khadija Manzo and 15 others were involved in selling babies to people in need.
“On receiving the report, detectives attached to Lowcost Division carried out investigation which led to the arrest of Manzo, and other suspects,” he said.
The PPRO further said investigations revealed that Manzo had allegedly sold two babies to one Ukamaka Ugwu on different occasions adding that other suspects were nabbed for their involvement in the crime.
Explaining further, Abubakar said: “investigation shows that the said Manzo reportedly sold a child for N400, 000 to one Tina Raphael.
“And she gave N200,000 to one Haruna Abubakar, who works with Social Welfare, Gombe under the guise of making relevant certificate for proper handing over of the child.
“Yahaya Suleiman received the N200,000 from Manzo to give to Haruna Abubakar and he delivered the money.
“Ukamaka Ugwu bought two children and one is currently in Lagos and the other in Anambra, but the police is working to ensure safe return of the babies.” – NAN
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